2018…

The dust has well and truly settled on 2018, which was crammed with all sorts of crazy, not all of which I could digest in one post. Suffice to say, the biggest changes for me personally were in my professional life, as I got to grips with a very different environment and type of pressure. I can’t say everything about the experience has been positive, but it has perhaps fortified me in ways I didn’t think possible – it’s given me a resolve to push through the pain barrier, so to speak. It has changed a few dynamics – not least of all being a lack of weekends off – but I have to say that I am earning more money for my family and myself. There are obvious advantages to this!

Still, work is not (and can never be) the be all and end all. The importance of family time is even more vital, which is why it was so lovely to spend a week in Dorset with my immediate family – my wife and daughter, mother and father, brother, sister-in-law and nephew. I’d love to have the opportunity to spend time with more of my family and in 2019, I need to find that time. Work also interfered with other pursuits last year – I have yearned to devote some time to creative writing but have had no energy for anything like that. It doesn’t help that I am easily distracted – ooooooh, a unicorn! Wait what?

What was I saying? Oh yeah, I’m easily distracted. I’ve indulged in a few pursuits on the new laptop (a couple of new games but also older ones I’ve been replaying) and I’ve been rereading some old books in preparation for some new ones. I’m determined to read more this year, for reading is a terrific means of stimulating the brain.

I could talk about the social and political impact of 2018, though I’m not at all sure how qualified I am to do so. The world has continued to endure the idiocy of not only Trump but his supporters, but the Resistance scored a major blow in the US midterms that will hopefully have consequences for the better in 2019. The UK continues to lurch toward the disaster of Brexit and it doesn’t look like we can stop it at this point. Some important acts of representation occurred last year, such as the film Black Panther (which was also awesome!). Against the push by certain quarters to move toward reactionary populism, there has been light and love to push back. I am proud to know an amazing group of people who are doing exactly that.

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